Counting-machine.



No. 800,897. PATENTED 00T. 3, 1905.

J. D. BISHOP.

GOUNTING MACHINE.

APIOATION FILED 192.0. 17, 1904.

No. 800,897. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905. I. D. BISHOP.

GOUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.17, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

fw M M No. 800,897. PATBNTED 00T. 3, 1905. J. D. BISHGP. COUNTINGMACHINE..

APPLICATION FILED DEG. 17, 1904.

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J. D. BISHOP.

GOUNTING MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DE01?. 1904.

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GUUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.17, 190% 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

fm Wm UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

COUNTlNG-NIACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application tiled December 17, 1904. Serial No. 237,234.

To @ZZ wlw-m, it may concern: l

Be it known that I, JAMES DRAPER BISHOP, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Newark, Essex county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Counting-Machines, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements Vin machines for counting sheets ofpaper or similar material, including bank notes, stock certiticates,transfers, and similar matter of all kinds, and has for its object toprovide animproved mechanism simplified in form and of greater accuracyand efciency for accom' Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a view of a detail. Fig. 7 isa section on the lin'e Y Y, Fig. 6. Fig. 7 is a section on the line Z,Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the combined sweep and retainer.

This machine embodies various fundamental features embodied in themachine of my application, Serial No. 193,584, filed February 15, 1904.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 represents the sheets tobe counted, which may be regarded as notes ortransfers. These sheets areclamped to a table 2 by a spring-clamp 3, which is mounted on the plate4, so as to be movable and adjustable by the bolt 5, sliding in the slot6. The table 2 is pivoted at 11 to the base or frame 12 and has at oneend a downwardly-projecting lug 13, to which a spring 14 is attached.This spring 14 tends to elevate the other end of the table for thepurpose hereinafter described. The tension of the spring 14 can beadjusted by the nut 15. Supported by a hollow bracket 16, secured to thebase, is a pneumatic or suction-lifting device or lifter 18, whose mouthis formed with lips 19, preferably of rubber, and bears upon thesheets 1. Writhin the lips and at the mouth of the lifting device is aperforated diaphragm 20, which acts to prevent the sheets from being'drawn in so far as to be injured. The lips 19 are carried by a removablehead 21, so that heads with lips having openings of different widths canbe readily and easily substituted. The lifting device is provided with ahollow trunnion 18, through which and the hollow bracket 16 the head andlips are connected at 22 with the main cylinder 23 within the base.Inside this cylinder is a piston 24, operated through the rod 25 from acrank 26, mounted on the shaft 27, to which in turn is connected thedriving or crank wheel 28. The lifter shown has an oscillating movementwhich is brought about by a crank-arm 37 connected to the trunnion ofthe lifter 18, to which is in turn joined a connecting-rod 38, which atits other end is engaged by a cam 39, mounted on the main shaft. A stop40 is provided to limit the backward movement of the rod 38, which takesplace under the influence of the spring 41. The cam 39 through the rod38 actuates the lifter, so that it begins to rise shortly after thepiston 24 begins to cause it to exert a suction. On the opposite side ofthe machine from the hollow bracket 16 is a bracket 42, in which isrotatably mounted a device 44, one part of which is a pusher or sweep,while the other part 47 is a rctainer for the notes raised by the lifter18 and pushed up by the sweep 45. As the suction device 18 is lifted thesweep 45 revolving passes beneath the end of the vpaper and pushes itupward unt-il it is fully raised, after which it is retained by theparallel portions forming the retainer 47. FVhen the gap between theretainer 47 and the pusher 45 is reached, the notes are kept fromfalling back by the retaining-guard 48, which is adjustably mounted at49. The rotating device 44 is positively driven by any suitable meansfrom the main shaft 27. In the present instance I have shown a chain 50,engaging sprocketwheels 51 51 on the main and driven shafts. To preventthe sweep from engaging more than the single sheet engaged by thelifter, I provide guard-wires 52, which .project over the ends of thesheets and prevent them from springing up, so as to be engaged by thesweep.

In order to count the movements of the piston 24 whenever a sheet islifted by it and to provide against making' a record of the pistonstrokewhenever the lifter fails to raise a sheet, I provide a pneumaticcounter, consisting of an integrating mechanism 53, indicating bothitcms and totals, connected by a link 54 with a piston 55 within acylinder 57. The backward stroke of the piston (to the right in Fig. 3)is limited by a stop 56 and produced by a spring IOO IOS

IIO

56, connected to a hook projecting from the framework, Fig. 2. Theforward movement is produced by suction in the following manner: Thiscylinder 57 is connected to the main cylinder 28 by a pipe 58, whichjoins the bracket 16 at the point 59. Here it is connected through theport 60 in the hollow trunnion 18 of the lifting device and the hollowbracket 16 with the piston-cylinder 23. By changing the position of thetrunnion 18 relatively to the crank 37 and the lifter-head 18 the timewhen the port 60 begins to register with the end of the pipe 58 can bevaried. Preferably I so adjust these parts that the connection will bemade with the pipe 58 when the lifter has been raised about half-way.This insures the registering of every sheet raised and prevents registrywhen a sheet is not raised.

In order to provide against registry when all the sheets are exhaustedwhatever the adjustment, I form in the table 2 an opening' 64 directlybeneath the mouth of the lifter, so as to vprevent the vacuum from thestart of the piston. The table 2 is normally moved by the spring 14,subject to the cam 65, mounted on the main shaft 27, so as to bring thesheets to be counted into contact with the mouth of the lifter 18 justafter suction has commenced. In order to facilitate the lifting,thenotes below the one being lifted are separated therefrom by the suddendepression of the table, which is made to occur just after suctionbegins. This may be brought about in various ways; but I have done it bycausing' the cam 65 to reengage the lever 66, connected by the link 67with the arm 68, connected to the table 2, so as to depress the table atthe proper time. An adjustable prop 69 beneath the sheets produces abulge in the sheets which assists in causing them to bend properly whenraised by the lifter.

In order to regulate the suction so as to adapt it for sheets of variousthickness, stiffness, and porosities, 1 provide a relief-valve 70,consisting of a valve-head 71, held to its seat by a spring 72. Thevalve-chamber is connected to the main cylinder 23. As the piston ismoved to create a suction the valve yields to admit more or less air tothe main cylinder, regulating the suction of the lifter, and therebyequalizing the pressure on the main piston throughout the counting ofall the sheets in the machine. y

In the manipulation and operation of the machine the sheets 1 are placedwith one end under the clamp 3, so that their other ends aresubstantially in the position shown beneath the lifter 18. The machineis then operated by turning the handle counter-clockwise, which createsthe following movements: The piston,`

24 is first rapidly drawn backz1 e., to the left in F ig. 5-by the crank26. This produces a vacuum in rear of the piston 24, which actingthrough the port 22 and hollow bracket and trunnion produces a suctionat the mouth of the lifter 18, causing the uppermost sheet to adhere.The suction device is then raised or oscillated by the cam 44. The sweep45, which in the meantime has been revolving, passes beneath the liftedend and pushes the sheet up, straightening it out, so that it isretained by the retainer 47. The lifter is then free to return foranother sheet, while the sweep continues in its movement about its axisand its movement being properly timed relatively to the lifter returnsso as to be ready to engage another sheet as soon as lifted. Themovement of the lifter need not necessarily be oscillating, though Iprefer a construction having such a movement, since if two sheets shouldbe raised at any time the forward nievement would tend to cause thesecond sheet to be separated and to drop back before the lifted sheet isengaged by the sweep. The sweep 45 and retainer 47 may be made oftransparent material, so that the sheets shall be visible through them.The counting mechanism acts as before explained, the air beingcontrolled by the trunnion-port, so as preferably to actuate thepneumatic counter only when the lifter has been suiiiciently raised tobring the lifted sheet within the range of the sweep. The dropping ofthe table 2 is properly timed by the positioning of the cam 65, whilethe relief-valve 7 0 prevents injury to the sheets by reason of toogreat suction and also equalizes the working` of the machine.

The principal features of my improved machine over the machine of myearlier application consists in the improved sweep and improvedretaining device, also in the means for adjusting the time of action ofthe counting mechanism, also the use of a relief-valve and the approachof the lifter and table after suction has begun and their separationafter the sheet has adhered to the lifter, all of which, together withother minor improvements, are referred to in the claims.

1. In a counting-machine, means for lifting a sheet and a sweeprevolubly mounted on a fixed axis and so placed and timed as to engagesaid sheet when lifted.

2. In a counting-machine, means for lifting a sheet and a sweeprevolubly mounted on a fixed axis and so placed and timed as to engagesaid sheet when lifted, and a retaining device for retainingsaid sheetin position when disengaged by said sweep.

3. In a counting-machine, a table for holding sheets, a sweep adapted torotate so as to describe, about a given axis, a cylinder in proximity tothe sheets and a lifter mounted within said cylinder of revolution andadapted to raise said sheets one at a time into the path of said sweep.

4. In a vpneumatic counting-machine, a pneumatic lifter, a pneumaticregistering mechanism and means for controlling the IOO pneumaticconnection of said registering mechanism so as to determine the time ofits operation relatively to the lifter.

5. In a pneumatic counting-machine, a suction-producing chamber, apneumatic lifter 18 connected therewith, a pneumatic register, means forconnecting said pneumatic register with said suction-chamber and meansfor controlling the time of such connection relatively to the action ofsaid lifter.

6. ln a pneumatic counting-machine, the combination of a table for thesheets to be counted, a pneumatic lifter for raising said sheets one ata time, means for causing' said table and lifter to approach each otherand thereafter separate by a substantially vertical movement of theopposing portion of one of said parts once during every operation of thelifter.

7. In a pneumatic counting-machine, the

combination of a table for the sheets to be counted, a pneumatic lifterfor raising said sheets one at a time, said lifter oscillating' on anaxis, and means for causing` the distance between said table and theaxis of revolution of said lifter to increase substantially as saidlifter engages a sheet.

8. In a pneumatic counting-machine, a pneumatic lifting device, apneumatic register consisting' of an integrating mechanism, a piston foractuating' the same, a cylinder for said piston connected with thesuction-chamber of said lifting' device, and a spring for retractingsaid piston whenever the suction ceases.

Signed at New York city, New York, this 15th day of December, 1904.

JAMES DRAPER BISHOP.

lVitnesses:

RoB'r. S. ALLYN, L. VREELAND.

